se was in no way
serious--at the worst nothing more than a light attack of malaria. In
the afternoon the _jefe_, neglecting the _padre_, invited the judge of
_primera instancia_ and myself to accompany him upon a little expedition
to the neighboring Cave of the Fifth of May. We went in a coach, taking
Louis, who sat with the driver, as photographer; on the way, we visited
the town cemetery, which we found a dreary place, with no effort at
adornment and with an air of general neglect. We passed a number of
places where they were boiling sugar, and at one we stopped to see the
mode of dipping calabashes for _dulces_; the fruits are gourd-like, but
have considerable soft pulp within the thin, hard crust; several holes
are bored through the external shell and the calabashes, slung by
strings into groups at the end of a pole, are dipped into the boiling
sap or syrup; the dipping is done two or even three times, and the
clusters are removed and allowed to drip and dry between dips. The loose
flesh is soaked through with the syrup, making a rich, sweet mass, much
used for desserts. Finally, we turned into another place where sugar was
being made, and found it the cleanest and neatest of its kind. Here we
sampled little cakes of clean brown sugar, and were treated with similar
cakes in which peanuts and squash-pips were embedded, making a delicious
confection. We were here supplied with a clean, fresh _jicara_ cup, and,
walking along the path a few rods, ascended slightly to the mouth of the
cave, which was far handsomer than we had expected. The limestone of
Yucatan abounds in caves and subterranean water-courses, especially near
the base of the ridge already mentioned. The mouth of the cavern was
fringed with ferns and other vegetation. A flight of rustic steps led
down to the nearly level floor of red cave-earth. The light from outside
entered sufficiently to show the greater portion of the cave. The rock
walls, opposite the opening, were brilliantly green with some minute
growth; from the floor rose a heap of stone upon the top of which was
set an _olla_ of large size to catch the water dripping from the roof;
it was full of most beautifully clear, cool water, which we dipped out
with our _jicara_ and drank. At two or three other places on the floor,
and on projections from the side walls of the cave, were other _ollas_,
or broken water-troughs of stone, for catching water. Lighting our
candles we went behind a pendant veil o